The Festival of the Seas is a Savalian tradition that celebrates the nation's history as a naval power. The festival places a large emphasis on craftsmanship, celebrating both the items the early Savalians traded with and the ships that carried their goods. The festival draws in tens of thousands of visitors, many of whom choose to stay in the old sailing ships that have been converted into hotels.
Events
The celebration is held during the third week of Nueven, from the 13th to the 20th. The festival has a primary schedule that is kept consistent between years, with a secondary schedule full of smaller events that changes from year to year.
Opening Ceremonies
The first day of the festivities is dedicated to the Opening Ceremonies. The Ceremonies include a dedication to the brave souls who lost their lives at sea during the Savalian Silver Age, as well as those who were lost in the previous year. There is a massive feast for all attendees, and the official opening of the many shops and merchant tents around the city of Vaeun.
Merchant's Day
Merchant's Day is the second day of festivities, and is the largest single event on the calendar. Hundreds of merchants travel from across the globe to attend, selling their crafts and wares in a special "merchant district" set up in the park in the heart of Vaeun. Merchant's Day in 7E 576 currently holds the record for most gold exchanged in a single event, with over 3.1 million gold having been spent on the variety of goods on offer.
Flag Day
Flag Day is the third day of festivities. This event centers around a celebration of flags, while also serving to streamline records-keeping. Under UCAN law, naval craft must fly a flag denoting their national allegience, but may also fly a flag representing their personal allegiences, such as to a mercantile company. Many independent sailors will use that opportunity to design their own flags to fly alongside their national flag. Flag Day provides an opportunity for individuals to register their own flag designs with the Savalian government to prevent others from creating copycat flag designations.
Figurehead Design Competition
The fourth day of festivities centers around the Figurehead Design Competition. Woodworkers from around the globe travel to show off their handiwork, each competing for a chance to design a figurehead for one of the new ships in Savalia's fleet among other prizes. On average, the competition features hundreds of competitors, with only 12-15 being chosen to design a masthead, with another 20-30 receiving a variety of other prizes.
The Festival Craft
The fifth and sixth days are dedicated to the unveiling and maiden voyage of the year's Festival Craft. The fifth day sees tour groups being shown around the festival craft, showing off the intricate woodwork and paintings that adorn the interior and exterior of the craft. The sixth day has the festival craft taken out into the seas around Savalia, demonstrating a variety of naval maneuvers. Depending on current political conditions, the event may also include test-firings of the craft's armaments.
The seventh day is dedicated to laying the keel for next year's festival craft, as well as naming the woodworker who will design and create the festival craft's figurehead.
Closing Ceremonies
The eighth and final day of festivities is dedicated to the Closing Ceremonies. Not much occurs on this day, but these ceremonies are used to clearly deliniate the end of festivities, and to give festival staff the time to handle any final tasks before the festival enters its teardown phase.
